Chapter 82: Yandere vs Kuudere (II)
I launched myself at her, my body dissolving into blood mist and reforming behind her with a burst of speed. My claws raked across her back, tearing through her combat kimono and drawing a thin line of red across her pale skin.
She hissed, spinning to face me. "So you can also pack a punch. How... unsurprising."
She lunged, and I met her head-on.
Our claws met sparks flying off at the point of contact, the impact sending a shockwave through the rooftop that cracked the tiles beneath our feet. I felt the force of her Yoki pressing against my own, hot and volatile, like standing too close to a furnace.
We broke apart, circling each other like beasts sizing up their prey, before once again going head-on into a melee exchange.
Chizuru's tails lashed forward, each one wreathed in flickering blue flames. The Kitsunebi came at me from multiple angles, a barrage of searing heat that forced me to stay on the move. I dodged the first, ducked under the second, and dissolved into blood mist to evade the third.
The flames passed through me, their heat licking at the edges of my vapor form. I reformed a few feet away, my claws already extended, and launched myself at her flank.
She spun to meet me, her claws clashing against mine. The impact sent a jolt through my arms, and I felt the heat of her Yoki bled through where we touched.
'It seems she is testing me. That's arrogant of you. Probing for weaknesses will not get you much.'
I would not give her any.
'Shuzen-ryu: Blood Stride.'
I vanished from her sight, reappearing at her blind spot. My fist slammed into her ribs, the impact sending her stumbling sideways. She recovered quickly, her tails whipping around to strike at me, but I was already gone.
'Shuzen-ryu: Crimson Fang Fist.'
The technique was simple but devastating, a strike that used the momentum of my own blood to amplify the force of the blow. My fist connected with her shoulder, and I felt something give way beneath my knuckles.
She staggered, a hiss of pain escaping her lips. Her eyes blazed with golden fury, and the flames around her flared brighter.
"You are a persistent one, Akashiya-san."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
She lunged at me, her claws aimed at my throat. I met her in the middle, our bodies colliding at a high speed the untrained eye couldn't keep up with. The Shuzen-ryu style was brutal and efficient, designed for fighting such opponents that relied too much on their superior Yoki. I flowed through the forms, each strike progressing into the next, a relentless wave of crimson energy.
'Shuzen-ryu: Rising Fang.'
An upward strike aimed at her chin. She leaned back, avoiding the worst of it, but my claws still raked across her jaw, drawing blood.
'Shuzen-ryu: Falling Crescent.'
A downward blow aimed at her collarbone. She blocked with her forearm, but the force of the strike sent her stumbling backward.
'Shuzen-ryu: Bloodfall.'
I gathered the blood from my wound, shaping it into a blade of crimson energy, and drove it into her side. She screamed, staggering backward, her hand pressed against the wound.
'Now. Press the advantage.'
I launched myself at her, my body dissolving into blood mist once more. The intangibility was a gift I had honed over years of training back when I was at the Shuzen Castle, a skill that made me nearly impossible to pin down. I reformed behind her, my claws already extended, and raked them across her back.
She spun, her tails lashing out in a frenzy of golden fury. I dissolved again, the mist scattering across the rooftop, and reformed a few feet away.
"Stand still, you coward!" she snarled.
"Why should I? I am not stupid to abandon my advantage."
It seems she didn't like my reply as her claws extended and seconds later I arrived to claim a hit, our bodies colliding as the two Yokis also pressed one another.
We disengaged, both breathing heavily. The rooftop was a mess of cracked tiles and scorch marks, evidence of our struggle. The night air was thick with the scent of ozone and burnt stone.
I stood with my feet planted, my body low, my claws extended. The wounds on my forearms had already sealed, the torn flesh knitting back together as if it had never been damaged. Blood Regeneration was a gift I had taken for granted growing up in Shuzen Castle, but now, facing a Kitsune of Chizuru's caliber, I was grateful for every drop of Shinso blood flowing through my veins.
Chizuru had stopped smiling when she discovered that she wouldn't have an easy night.
Her golden hair rippled in an unfelt wind, the nine tails behind her swaying with predatory grace. Her green eyes, now slitted like a cat's, tracked my every movement. The crimson kimono hugged her form, and I could see the lean muscle beneath, the coiled tension of a predator ready to spring.
"You are faster than I expected," she admitted, her voice carrying a harmonic echo. "I will give you that much, Akashiya-san. But speed alone will not save you."
"I do not need saving," I replied, my voice cold. "I am not the one who is about to lose."
Her eyes narrowed. "Arrogant. Like all Vampire in existence."
"And you are possessive. Just like any text-book Kitsune."
The taunting words flew back and forth between us, sharp and edged. For a long moment, neither of us moved. We circled each other slowly, our feet silent against the tiles, our eyes locked in a battle of wills that preceded the physical clash to come.
I studied her posture, the way she held her weight, the subtle shifts in her stance. She was faster than she had been in our earlier exchange, more focused. The frustration that had clouded her judgment before was gone, replaced by something colder.
Honestly, she was getting more dangerous the more she fought me and I didn't like that one bit.
'She is reassessing me. Good. A smart opponent is a worthy opponent.'
Chizuru's lips curved into a smile, but it did not reach her eyes. "You know, Akashiya-san, I have been thinking about Tsukune-kun. About the way he looks at you. The way he speaks your name."
I kept my expression neutral. "Is that so?"
"It is." She paused, letting the silence stretch. "He speaks of you with such reverence. Such... devotion. It makes me wonder what you have done to earn such loyalty."
'I am not going to take the bait. She wants to provoke me, to make me lose focus.'
I met her gaze, keeping my voice cool. "I have done nothing to earn it. I simply am who I am. He loves me for that."
Chizuru's smile flickered, just a fraction. "You say that as if it is so simple. As if love is something you can just... receive. Without effort. Without sacrifice."
"It is simple," I said. "You either love someone, or you do not. You cannot force it. You cannot earn it through desperate displays of devotion."
The words hit their mark. I saw the brief flash of something in Chizuru's eyes, anger, hurt, or perhaps both, before she suppressed it.
"You speak as if you have never doubted," she said, her voice dropping. "As if you have never once wondered if you are worthy of him."
I did not answer immediately. The question lingered in the air between us, sharp and uncomfortable. Because she was not entirely wrong. There were nights when I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I deserved the happiness I had found. Wondering if I was good enough for him.
But as a Vampire, from a young age you learn to bury your emotions in the depths of your cold heart. Weakness can't be allowed in a world of monsters.
"Worth is not something you earn," I said finally. "It is something you recognize. Tsukune recognized my worth long before I recognized it myself. That is why I love him. Not because he made me feel worthy, but because he saw what was already there."
Chizuru stared at me, her expression unreadable. For a moment, the hostility in her eyes softened, replaced by something that might have been understanding.
Then she shook her head, and the coldness returned.
"You are very good at that, Akashiya-san. So annoying with those wise quotes of yours. You're making everything sound so simple to you." She stepped closer, her tails swaying behind her. "But words are just words. Let us see if your actions can match them."
I was ready to match her, meeting her charge head-on, with my finger nails turned into claws, as they met with hers, sending a shockwave on the outside, and I felt the force of her Yoki pressing against my defenses.
Just as I was doing, trying to probe into her weaknesses, she was also trying to sniff out any weakness I might have in my fighting style. Sadly for her, I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing one, not that I didn't have weaknesses.
We broke apart, circling again. The tiles beneath our feet were cracked and scorched, evidence of the battle already beginning to unfold and Chizuru's tails fanned out behind her appearing to have a sentience of their own.
"Tell me, Akashiya-san," she said, her voice carrying a teasing edge. "Does Tsukune-kun know you are here? Does he know you are fighting for him while he sleeps peacefully in his bed?"
My Yoki flickered, just for an instant. The mention of his name in this context managed to stir a reaction out of me, since I didn't like it when others talked badly about Tsukune or mocked him.
'Good try, but I will not give you the satisfaction of getting in my head. Besides, I think he's spectating this fight from afar while munching on a bag of popcorn. He's really a Devil.'
"He knows I am capable of handling myself," I said, my voice steady. "He trusts me, and that is more than you can say for your own relationship with him."
"How does it feel being just a transactional side-piece?" ended throwing this sarcastic remark at her, she was easy to stir if I poked her where it hurt.
Chizuru's eyes blazed. "You know nothing of my relationship with him."
"Pitiful, you're trying to get into his good graces by being a good minion, wanting to please him with information about that Gorgon. I know you are so consumed by your own desires that you cannot see what is right in front of you."
I learned from Tsukune how to taunt my opponents, and it worked like a charm on this volatile Kitsune. She came at me again, faster this time. Her claws raked across my forearm, drawing blood, but to us Vampires those were light wounds that wouldn't bother our fighting pace.
I did not retreat in the face of adversity, instead, I struck back, trading while in the pocket, my palm slamming into her chest. The impact sent her stumbling backward, her heels digging into the tiles.
"You are getting predictable, Minamoto-san," I said, watching her in a detached manner.
She hissed, her tails lashing behind her. "And you are starting to get on my nerves, damned bloodsucker."
"Is that so? That means I am winning already."
She attacked again, and this time, she brought her tails into the fight. They lashed out from multiple angles, each one moving independently, striking at my blind spots. I dodged the first, ducked under the second, and caught the third with my forearm. The impact sent a jolt through my arm, and I felt the heat of her Yoki seeping through the contact point.
'I'll give her credit when it is due. She is stronger than any opponent I faced while at the same Class, except my older sister.' (Akua suddely drops her chopsticks inside a bowl of rice from her fingers being too oily from the Chinese dish she was munching.)
'But so am I.'
I activated Blood Mist Veil, my body dissolving into crimson vapor. The tails passed through me, striking nothing but air. I reformed behind her, my claw aimed at the base of her skull.
She spun, her eyes wide with surprise. Her tails whipped around, forming a barrier of golden fur and Yoki. My claw struck the barrier, and the impact shuddered through my arm. She had anticipated my attack, even if she had not seen it coming.
"You are a tricky one, Akashiya-san."
"I could say the same about you."
We broke apart again, breathing heavily. The tension between us thickened, our Yoki pressing against each other like two storms colliding. The rooftop was a mess of cracked tiles and scorch marks, evidence of our struggle.
Chizuru's eyes flickered, and I saw something shift in her expression. A flicker of respect, perhaps, or something deeper.
"You are not what I expected," she admitted, her voice softer now. "I thought you would be... easier to break."
"I am not easy to break, Minamoto-san. I have survived worse than you."
She smiled, a sharp, predatory expression. "So have I."
With only a breath to recuperate, we clashed again, our Yoki flaring as we exchanged blows. Her claws raked across my shoulder, drawing more blood while my fist slammed into her ribs, and something gave way beneath my knuckles.
Watching her pained expression, raised my lips, takin in the pleasure of seeing her hurt. She staggered, then threw herself at me again, her teeth bared in a snarl.
Soon, I found my rhythm after grabbing it forcefully from the Kitsune.
The Shuzen-ryu style was built for such close ranged brawls, and in fact, it was perfected directly by the Ancestors of the Shuzen Clan to overwhelm the other Vampire Clans competing for the throne of the Shadow World.
Chizuru was fast, but she was also predictable in the eyes of a Vampire. She favored sweeping arcs, wide strikes that left her exposed for a fraction of a second after each attack.
I exploited that weakness without mercy.
I ducked under her next swing, my body low, and drove my knee into her stomach. The impact forced the air from her lungs, and she doubled over, her guard dropping. I followed up with an elbow strike to her temple, sending her stumbling sideways.
She recovered quickly, but I was already there. My claw raked across her forearm, tearing through the crimson fabric and drawing a thin line of red across her skin. She hissed, pulling back, and I pressed my advantage.
'Shuzen-ryu: Blood Stride.'
I vanished from her sight, reappearing at her flank. My fist slammed into her ribs, and I felt something crack beneath my knuckles. She staggered, her wings faltering, and I drove my palm into her chest, sending her skidding across the rooftop.
I stood over her, my breathing steady, my claws dripping with her blood. "You are losing, Minamoto-san."
She looked up at me, her green eyes wide with shock. For a moment, I thought I saw fear flicker in their depths.
Then she smiled.
The smile she gave me was cold, knowing, and I didn't like it for one moment.
"You think so, Akashiya-san?" Her voice was calm, almost amused. "You think you are winning?"
I felt her Yoki spike, then all of a sudden I felt my senses alerting me, and I did not quite understand why. "What are you even talking about?"
She pushed herself upright, her movements fluid despite the damage I had dealt. Her tails fanned out behind her, each one moving with a life of its own. The flames around her flickered, and I realized they had not dimmed at all.
They had been waiting.
"You are so focused on the fight, Akashiya-san," Chizuru said, her voice carrying a teasing edge. "So focused on proving you are stronger. But you have forgotten something important."
"And what is that?"
She smiled, and her eyes blazed with golden light. "I am a Kitsune. Deception is in my nature."
Her tails lashed out, and I realized too late that they had not been idle. They had been weaving a web of golden threads, a net of Yoki that had been forming around me while I was focused on my attacks.
The threads tightened, and I felt my limbs grow heavy, my movements sluggish. I tried to dissolve into blood mist, but the threads clung to my form, refusing to release me.
"Did you really think I would let you win so easily?" Chizuru asked, stepping closer. "You are strong, I will give you that. But being a brute doesn't always win you a fight. Being a master in the art of deception can do much more than you expect."
I struggled against the threads, but they held fast. My Yoki was still there, simmering beneath the surface, but the threads were sapping my strength, draining my energy.
'I didn't expect her to have such an ability hidden away. I lowered my guard thinking I was having her defeated.'
'A clever fox.'
Chizuru's smile widened as she saw the recognition in my eyes. "There it is. That moment of understanding I have been waiting for all night."
Her tails lashed forward, and I felt the threads tighten around my limbs, my torso, my throat. I could not move, could not breathe. The golden light of her Yoki was blinding, pressing down on me, thick and suffocating.
"You fought well, Akashiya-san," she said, her voice soft. "But you got too arrogant in thinking I was weaker than you. How does it feel being deceived so badly?"
She closed the distance, her claws aimed at my chest. I tried to dodge, but the threads held me fast. Her claws tore through my uniform, raking across my side with devastating force.
I felt the pain before I saw the wound. A searing, burning sensation that stole my breath and made my vision swim. The heat of her foxfire seeped into the wound, and I felt my regeneration struggling to keep up.
I looked down at my side, and I saw the deep gashes, the edges charred and blackened. Blood poured from the wounds, and I could feel the danger spreading over me if I didn't act fast to get out from this trap.
'I can't be stranded like this.'
Chizuru stepped back, admiring her handiwork. "That will slow you down, I think. Your regeneration is impressive, but can it keep up with the devouring power of my Kitsunebi? Let's find out."
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stay upright. The pain was intense, a constant, burning ache that threatened to overwhelm my senses.
"Is that all you have?" I asked, my voice strained but steady. "A cheap trick and a lucky hit?"
Chizuru's eyes narrowed. "You are still arrogant and prideful, even now in defeat. How foolish. I can spare your life right now if you accept defeat and leave Tsukune's side."
"Leaving Tsukune's side? Pff, you wish. In your dreams."
I gathered my Yoki, feeling it surge through my veins like liquid fire. The threads still held me, but they were weaker now, their grip loosening as I focused my power.
'Blood Shatter.'
The technique was dangerous, a last resort for when I was trapped and needed to break free. It sent a shockwave of crimson energy through my body, shattering the threads that bound me and sending them scattering into the night.
I stumbled forward, gasping for breath. The wound in my side flared with fresh pain, and I felt another fresh wave of pain as my regeneration struggled to keep up.
I looked up, meeting Chizuru's gaze. My eyes were cold, my expression flat.
"Is that all?" I asked again. "I expected more from a Nine-Tailed Kitsune."
Chizuru's confidence wavered. I saw it in the way her tails stilled, in the way her eyes flickered with uncertainty.
"You... you should not be able to move," she said, her voice carrying a hint of disbelief. "That wound should have crippled you."
"Oh, you are truly naive to think so." I straightened, ignoring the pain that lanced through my side as it began fading away. "We Vampires do not react to such insignificant damage with our superior Regeneration."
"Maybe you foxes have a harder time dealing with wounds than us Vampires. Should we find out?"
I could feel the wound still burning, the foxfire lingering in my veins like poison. My regeneration was working, but it was slow. Too slow.
I had to end this quickly.
I shifted my stance, adjusting to the pain. My body was weaker than before, my movements slower. But my mind was sharp, sharper than it had been all night.
'She is overconfident now seeing me hurt, thinking she has won. That is exactly her biggest weakness right now.'
I moved forward, feinting to the left before spinning to the right. My claw raked across her shoulder, drawing blood. She hissed, spinning to face me, but I was already gone, reappearing at her flank.
'Shuzen-ryu: Bloodfall.'
Again, I delivered a strike that used the momentum of my own blood to amplify the force of the blow. I gathered the blood from my wound, shaping it into a blade of crimson energy, and drove it into her side.
She screamed, staggering backward. The blade pierced her kimono, drawing a gush of blood that stained the golden fabric a deep crimson.
She was strong, but she was not invincible. And she was not used to fighting someone who could match her speed and strength.
"You are... you are not slowing down," she gasped, her voice strained. "How are you still fighting?"
"The true battle has just begun."
I pressed my advantage, relentless and unyielding. My fist slammed into her ribs, my knee drove into her stomach, my claw tore across her throat, but she managed to block it with her tails. I did finish my clawing movement and hacked at her golden tails, delivering some deep wounds that oozed blood.
She managed to push me back by unleashing vast amounts of Kitsunebi that made me dodge it since it could wound me badly if I insisted on staying in melee range.
After vanishing from my previous spot, I looked at Chizuru. She was wounded, bleeding, her confidence shaken, and the way she paused to look at her wounded tails along with her other wounds, it felt as if she was about to get desperate.
"Fine," Chizuru snarled, her voice carrying a harmonic edge that vibrated through the air. "You want to see my true power? Then prepare yourself, Vampire."
She stepped back, and the golden aura around her began to shift. The flames intensified, burning brighter, hotter, until they became a blinding corona of light. The blue flames mixed with the gold, creating a vortex of searing heat that made the air around her shimmer like a heat haze.
"Vermillion Fox Empress."
The transformation was breathtaking.
Her hair, already golden, became a blazing mane of fire, trailing behind her like a banner of Goddess of Fire. The flames did not burn her, but they scorched the air around her, creating a heat haze that made her silhouette seem to waver.
Her eyes shifted to a blazing gold, the pupils slitting into vertical lines, surrounded by faint blue flames that pulsed with power. A spectral fox mask formed over her face, elegant and menacing, hiding her expressions behind a facade of cold beauty.
The nine tails behind her grew larger, each one wreathed in mixed golden and blue flames. They fanned out behind her like a peacock's display, each one pulsing with Yoki that distorted the air around her like a heat haze.
Glowing, flame-like patterns appeared on her skin, tracing along her arms, her shoulders, her collarbone, pulsing with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
I felt the shift in the air, the way the temperature spiked, the way the shadows retreated from the light of her flames. The pressure of her Yoki intensified, bearing down on me thick and suffocating, like the air before a storm.
'Nine tails. Each one is a weapon I have to be aware of when fighting her.' I studied them carefully, noting the way they moved independently, the way they pulsed with power. 'The flames have changed, taking on a hotter property. That is no longer ordinary Kitsunebi that I can allow to hit me.'
'Her Yoki has spiked significantly, this makes her stronger than me in this regard.'
'Hmmm? It seems her flames are going all over the place.'
'She is not used to this transformation? I can exploit this opening in the way she controls her flames, to get a good kick or punch into her body.'
Chizuru's voice came from behind the mask, carrying a harmonic echo that seemed to resonate in my bones. "What is wrong, Akashiya-san? Cat got your tongue?"
I met her gaze, keeping my expression neutral despite the weight of her power pressing against my senses. "I am simply admiring the view. It will make your defeat more satisfying in the end."
Her eyes narrowed behind the mask. "You are still arrogant. Even now. Even when you face this perfect version of mine."
"I am not arrogant," I said, keeping my voice low, matching my heart. "I am observant. And what I observe is that you are struggling to control your flames in this form. Could it be? Is it an unstable form?
I saw the flicker of surprise in her eyes, the brief moment of hesitation before she recovered. She had not expected me to notice.
"This is not a form I have difficulty controlling," she said, her voice calm and measured. "Every flame, every tail, every flicker of this power is mine to command. Do not mistake my patience for weakness, Vampire."
Her eyes blazed with golden fury.
"I have been saving this just for you, Akashiya Moka, to clearly show you the difference between us. You don't deserve to be beside Tsukune. That place should be only mine!"
She thrust her hand forward, and the flames surged.
"Take this! Vermillion Fox's Wrath!"
The torrent of blue and gold flames erupted from her palm, a tidal wave of searing heat that rushed toward me with devastating speed. The fire was blinding, a vortex of destruction that threatened to consume everything in its path.
The flames engulfed me, their heat spreading across my skin, seeping into my vital points while threatening to consume me entirely, only if I allowed this to happen and stood there dumbfounded by the light show.
'I am not that foolish.'
Chizuru watched, her expression unreadable behind the mask. The flames continued to burn, their intensity unwavering, until they finally began to fade.
She stepped closer, her footsteps silent against the scorched tiles. Her voice carried a hint of regret, soft and almost sincere. "I did not want it to end this way, Akashiya-san. I wanted you to yield. To accept that I am better suited for Tsukune-kun. But I suppose this was the only way out in this love rivalry."
She knelt beside the flames, reaching out to touch the charred remnants of my form. Her fingers brushed against the scorched fabric of my uniform, and she sighed.
"Perhaps, in another life, we could have been friends. You are strong, I will give you that. But your strength was not enough to change this fateful ending."
She rose, turning to leave.
Then she froze.
The sound was soft, barely audible over the crackling of dying flames. A single, quiet exhale.
"Tch."
Chizuru spun around, her eyes wide with disbelief. The flames had parted, and I stood in the center of them, my form intact, my wounds gone. The charred remnants of my uniform had been replaced by a pristine Academy uniform, untouched by the flames.
My eyes burned with crimson Yoki, and a smirk tugged at the corners of my lips.
"You know, Minamoto-san," I said, my voice light and mocking. "For a Kitsune, you are surprisingly easy to fool."
Her eyes widened, her composure cracking for the first time. "What... how... you were consumed by the flames! I saw you burn!"
"Did you?" I tilted my head, my smirk widening. "Or did you see what I wanted you to see?"
'Blood Clone.'
It was an S-tier technique, one of the hardest skills in the Shuzen Clan's arsenal to pull off, a power that allowed me to create a perfect copy of myself using my blood. The clone was indistinguishable from the original, even to the most trained eyes.
It worked like a charm on this inexperienced fox.
Chizuru stared at me, her expression shifting from shock to disbelief to dawning comprehension. "You... you tricked me. You used some kind of clone."
The realization that she had been taken for a fool, combined with the mocking expression on my face, made her clench her fist by her side, her tails lashing behind her in a frenzy of anger. "You think this changes anything? You think you can still win?"
I disappeared from where I was standing, appearing before the Kitsune using my Blood Stride. After closing the distance between us, my fist connected with her face before she could react. The impact sent her mask cracking, the spectral surface splintering into spiderwebs of fractured light. She stumbled backward, her hand flying to her face, her eyes wide with shock.
"You're left only with the big talk, doggy."
.
.
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